A report from the Manchester Union-Leader has the entire paid staff of Michele Bachmann quitting en mass. However, the canddate says she is unaware of anyone quitting and called the report "shocking:"

Michele Bachmann's state campaign manager says her entire New Hampshire campaign staff has quit, but Bachmann says "it's certainly not true."

A long-time Bachmann friend and supporter today confirmed that he quit last week as the New Hampshire campaign manager for the Minnesota congresswoman's presidential campaign.

Jeff Chidester, a well-known conservative activist and radio talk show host, said his departure came as a result of frustration with Bachmann's national campaign, not with the candidate herself.

Chidester also confirmed that at least three other staffers _ Tom Lukacz, Nicole Yurek and Caroline Gigler _ have left for the same reason. He said he did not have direct knowledge whether Matt LeDuc has also left, as has been reported.

Gigler has signed on with the Rick Perry campaign and will begin working as a state field representative on Monday, said Perry state campaign manager Kerry Marsh.

Bachmann for President national campaign manager Keith Nahigian this afternoon said, "We have a great team in New Hampshire. We have not been notified that anyone is leaving the campaign. We look forward to spending more time in the Granite State between now and the primary.

But Nahigian admits, " At this time, our main focus is Iowa and we are building on our efforts there. Michele will spend the majority of her time in Iowa, doing what she does better than all the other candidates - retail politics - leading up to the all important caucuses."

When the campaign manager confirms that he has quit and that other staffers have left as well, there appears to be a towering disconnect between the national and state campaigns if Rep. Bachmann is unaware of the situation. Since the Union-Leader talked directly with the former campaign manager, the report would appear to be true.

I am interested to hear an explanation for how there could be such miscommunication.